Hermit Life

Has your life ever sucked so bad that you had to resort to using a toothbrush to brush your hair? Mine has. 
But actually, besides living out of a backpack and washing my clothes in a sink, 
today wasn't so bad! I have realized 
that if I am going to be a world traveler,
I have to approach everything with 
a "go-with-the-flow" attitude. 
So no more running through hotel
hallways screaming/sobbing. 

"WHERE THE *SWEAR WORD* IS THE FRONT DESK!?"


So I decided to enjoy the fact that I am a young free lady with an entire awesome city to explore. Also, a cute boy to drive me around. hehe.
To explain Tanner and my relationship, just play this song.. Summer dreams, ripped at the seams when I moved to Colorado and he moved to Vegas. You could say that I've got connections all over the world, yo. So, he picked me up at my hotel this morning and drove me down then strip and didn't buy me lunch. It was a good day.

Vegas is like a dream. Everything is so incredible! The people are kind of weird though. There are 3 types of people in Vegas: Tan, old, blond guys who are shaped like upside down triangles because they only remember to lift upper body. 45 year old groups of women who are all retaining about 30 pounds of alcohol because they get drunk at airports and have problems with their marriages. And Asians. I love every second of it.


Next stop, HOLLYWOOD! (cue Miley Cyrus)

Viva Las Vegas Sucks

I could think of worse places to be stranded than Las Vegas. But, I am

stranded, and that always sucks. And being stranded with nothing but a neck pillow, a ukulele and a backpack full of Cliff bars, is really not an ideal situation no matter where you are. I am trying to stay positive and calm, but it's hard. I’ve cried on an airport floor in front of a bunch of Koreans already today. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas I guess.

As a pro-active and stubborn problem solver, I like to pretend I know what I’m doing in airports. Which I do not. They terrify me. The amount of stress associated with airports makes my brain shut off and makes me want to cry. Which is exactly what I did. 
So now, I am in Vegas in a rink-a-dink hotel with a sweet view of the strip. With no clue where I’m going, or how I’m going to get there. 

What If..

This is crazy! What am I doing!? Not only have I never taught a classroom full of kids, but none of them speak English! So many things could happen! These situations haunt my half awake dreams at night.  I might eat something that I thought was chicken, but definitely wasn't and get sick and die. I might try and speak mandarin and accidentally offend a ninja and get a throwing star in my jugular, and die. 

But MOST of all I am in a country ruled by a communist government. All my life I've had problems with following rules, especially ones I thought were unjust or just stupid. And I've always found a way to bend the rules just enough to where I could get what I want and my superiors could stand it. But to be fair, my face hasn't ever been threatened by a firing squad like it will be in China. I'm not saying I like to break rules, I just like doing things my way. I'm an American, what can I say? 

I hate to admit it, but the unknown scares me. I've always thought of myself as an openminded, educated gal that truly believes in the spirit of YOLO. But I am not, I am scared. 

I want to leave because I am so excited, but I also want to leave because I am freaking myself out with what might happen. I just want to get there and face my ninjas. 

Night y'all. 

Wanna do something crazy?

"Hey, my name is Steve, wanna do something crazy?" was the start of the phone conversation that started my journey to the other side of the world. I guess I should go back even further. 

It really all began with a boy named Derek Scharf. Derek and I have only met in person a few times, and every encounter with him has been a... pleasure. Derek moved from Fort Collins right when I moved in. He was friends with all of my friends and so he calls me his "replacement". I say I was his "improvement". Anyway, Derek and I have kept contact on Twitter and Facebook so he knew that I was staying home for Spring semester. And I knew that lucky Derek was spending the semester in China teaching English to elementary students. So when the opportunity arrived that a teacher in his group needed replaced, he thought of me! Sweet guy, I'll love him forever. 

The group that I'll be going with is the International Language Program (ILP), they send students all over the world to spend semesters teaching English. Usually it costs students quite a bit of mula, but in my case, since I'll be a replacement for a teacher it's all paid for! When this crazy Steve guy first said this to me I thought it was a joke, it was too good to be true! Airline, food, drink, board, everything!? Then Crazy Steve says he would like me to leave next week! I couldn't believe it, I STILL can't believe it, that's why I'm up at 4:30 in the morning, making a beautiful blog and writing about it! 

It was a long day of running around town getting paperwork done. And making a million phone calls to bombard the poor ILP receptionist with my mother's questions. "Is the water safe?" "What vaccinations will she need?" "Oh my goodness! What is yellow-fever?!" And Google Earthing all of Changzhou trying to find robbers and rapists with the satellite photos. 

I can't wait, it is such a blessing and answer to my prayers. This opportunity came at such a perfect time in my life. Thank you Derek and thank you Crazy Steve and thank you God for this experience!